This invention relates to a food package including a tray with a rigid cover member having a raised top surface for securing the tray within the food package.
Food packaging for fresh items, such as, for example, meat and pastry products, among other things, may be provided in various ways. One such way, as disclosed in my commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/819,889, filed Mar. 18, 1997, is to provide a tray for holding the fresh item and a sleeve disposed about the tray. As can be appreciated, the tray maintains the freshness of the item contained therein, preferably by having a plastic film sealed thereto, and the sleeve provides an attractive facing and sufficient labeling space.
However, there are several aspects of such a food packaging which may be improved so as to increase overall quality and customer satisfaction. For example, it is often advantageous to be able to remove the tray from the sleeve and then reinsert the tray within the sleeve, repeatedly if desired, for storage purposes, for example. In this case, it is essential that a means be provided for easily securing the tray to the sleeve and for easily unsecuring the tray from the sleeve as well. Another area for improvement for food packaging containing fresh items, is to provide a means for viewing or visually inspecting the item contained within the tray prior to opening or purchasing the item.
What is needed, therefore, is a food package which provides a sleeve disposed about a tray where the tray can be conveniently retained within the sleeve while also providing for viewing or visual inspection of the item contained within the tray prior to opening or purchasing of the food package.